1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of wireless telecommunications, and in particular, to a method and system for enabling a subscriber to selectively forward information over or through the Internet.
2. Description of Related Art
Mobile wireless communication is becoming increasingly important for providing safety, convenience, improved productivity, and simple conversational pleasure. One prominent mobile wireless communication option is cellular communication. Cellular phones, for instance, can be found in cars, briefcases, purses, and even pockets. For cellular phone system providers to offer cellular phone users new services, cellular wireless networks must be upgraded.
Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, an exemplary cellular wireless network, such as a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) 100, will be described. The PLMN 100 is composed of a plurality of areas 105, each with a Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC) 110 and an integrated Visitor Location Register (VLR) 115 therein. The MSC/VLR areas 105, in turn, include a plurality of Location Areas (LA) 120, which are defined as that part of a given MSC/VLR area 105 in which a Mobile Station (MS) (terminal) 125 may move freely without having to send update location information to the MSC/VLR area 105 that controls the LA 120. Each LA 120 is divided into a number of cells 130. The MS 125 is the physical equipment, e.g., a car phone or other portable phone, used by mobile subscribers to communicate with the cellular network 100, each other, and users outside the subscribed network, both wireline and wireless.
The MSC 110 is in communication with at least one Base Station Controller (BSC) 135, which, in turn, is in contact with at least one Base Transceiver Station (BTS) 140. The BTS 140 is the physical equipment, illustrated for simplicity as a radio tower, that provides radio coverage to the geographical part of the cell 130 for which it is responsible. It should be understood that the BSC 135 may be connected to several base transceiver stations 140, and may be implemented as a stand-alone node or integrated with the MSC 110. In either event, the BSC 135 and the BTS 140 components, as a whole, are generally referred to as a Base Station System (BSS) 145.
With further reference to FIG. 1, the PLMN Service Area or wireless network 100 includes a Home Location Register (HLR) 150, which is a database maintaining all subscriber information, e.g., user profiles, current location information, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) numbers, and other administrative information. The HLR 150 may be co-located with a given MSC 110, integrated with the MSC 110, or alternatively can service multiple MSCs 110, the latter of which is illustrated in FIG. 1.
The VLR 115 is a database containing information about all of the Mobile Stations 125 currently located within the MSC/VLR area 105. If a MS 125 roams into a new MSC/VLR area 105, the VLR 115 connected to that MSC 110 will request data about that MS 125 from the HLR database 150 (simultaneously informing the HLR 150 about the current location of the MS 125). Accordingly, if the user of the MS 125 then wants to make a call, the local VLR 115 will have the requisite identification information without having to reinterrogate the HLR 150. In the aforedescribed manner, the VLR and HLR databases 115 and 150, respectively, contain various subscriber information associated with a given MS 125.
Increasingly, mobile service subscribers are using their MS 125 as much as, or even more than, a traditional wireline phone. As a result, mobile service subscribers value options that lower the cost of their wireless service subscription or the per-minute charges thereof. Consequently, it is desirable to be able to lower the cost of service.
Additionally, wireless service subscribers are demanding value-added features from their wireless communication systems providers. Examples of such services are caller identification (ID), voice mail, and standard call forwarding. Existing wireless communication systems do not, however, offer their subscribers the ability to forward information over the Internet to an Internet address. Such existing wireless communication systems likewise do not offer their subscribers the ability to forward information through the Internet.
Because information transmission costs over the packet-switched Internet are substantially cheaper than transmission over the traditional circuit-switched telephone network, wireless service costs can be reduced by permitting a subscriber to optionally forward information over/through the Internet. Additionally, an option to forward information over the Internet would permit a subscriber to have data or other information transmitted directly to an Internet protocol (IP) address. In short, existing wireless communication systems have heretofore failed to provide the ability for a subscriber to choose to have information forwarded through the Internet (before returning to the wireless communication network) or over the Internet to an IP address.